The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [114]
PHILOSOPHY
“Be Good or Be Gone” and “We Were Here Before You Were Born” are the two house mottos; women were not allowed in until 1970. It can still be a bit of a boy’s club (as in modern day Jersey boys), but on a good quiet afternoon it feels just as it should.
KEY BEER
McSorley’s beer, first brewed by a long lost brewing company called Fidelio and later Schmidt, comes in two varieties, both quite light. Hop heads need not apply. Order one beer; two mugs are served. From time to time one hears of plans afoot to remake the recipe, for now it’s a pair of Stroh’s/Pabst creations, simply one “light” and one “dark” and nothing to write home about.
D.B.A.
41 1st Ave. (between 2nd and 3rd) New York, NY 10003 •(212) 475-5097 drinkgoodstuff.com • Established: 1996
SCENE & STORY
When D.B.A. (a cheeky reference to a legal term referring to an assumed business name, “Doing Business As”) opened, the Lower East Side was a touch edgier, but it’s still got an appealing energy and street life. It’s a New York classic, and its success has spawned two other outposts, one in Williamsburg, and one in New Orleans. Dimly lit with candles on copper-topped tables, an enormous chalkboard menu of beers and spirits available, and a small but comfortable back patio (with biergarten picnic tables imported from Germany), it’s perhaps the best place to have a late-afternoon beer in New York City. D.B.A. is a weeknight or Sunday afternoon bar; take a bench in the small back garden area, or candlelit, copper-topped table near the back door, and let the time roll by.
PHILOSOPHY
Generosity is king. The late owner Ray Deter was a beer lover in the best sense, and he worked hard to keep the list rotating with unusual beers from both the region (Victory, Kelso, Southampton) and far, far away (St. Feuillien; Mikkeller; Ridgeway; De Ranke). It’s not just a beer bar, though; Deter’s stocked in some of the best single malts and other unusual spirits available in the States. He also serves Russ & Daughters bagels and lox—gratis—every Sunday afternoon until supplies run out. On Mondays, visitors who sit at the bar enjoy a complimentary cheese plate as well.
KEY BEER
Deter turned many a beer lover onto the true greatness of a beer called Taras Boulba, a 4.5% ABV Belgian Pale Ale from Brasserie De La Senne, a quenching, peppery, and light brew with a rocky white head and golden-amber hue.
THE HALF KING
505 W. 23rd St. • New York, NY 10011 • (212) 462-4300 thehalfking.com • Established:
SCENE & STORY
There was a sense, early on, that the Half King could have collapsed under the weight of its own lofty promise. Opened up by heavyweight journalists Sebastian Junger and Scott Anderson as a bar by and for their fellow writers, there was some doubt whether it might prove that writers do their best work on the other side of the bar, draining kegs rather than changing them out every ten-minutes. But Junger and Anderson kept a close watch on things, hiring seasoned staff and talented but not showoffy cooks. The Half King has become a minor New York establishment, because of how effortless the old friends have made it all seem.
The three-room bar (plus a small back garden area and sidewalk patio area) is modeled on a traditional English pub, appointed in warm salvaged woods from a 200-year-old barn. The furniture is simple; the bar well-stocked and crisply run. Craft beer wasn’t exactly in the heart of the matter at first, but recent beer dinners with the likes of Dogfish Head have pumped up the craft beer vibe. The best time to come here is for free Monday night readings